Post by Bobber on Jan 14, 2015 12:09:57 GMT

Paul McCartney - McCartneyRelease 17 April 1970

The Lovely LindaPaul starts off his debut album with this little ditty, as if he was letting us know that Linda was his new partner under all circumstances. Not much of a song. Strange gliss on 0.05, because he doesn’t seem to make a chord change there. Is that crying or laughing in the end (at 0.41). I would understand both: it’s just a thing Paul writes in about 0.47 seconds. It wouldn’t surprise me if this would be his first attempt at the song. Is he tapping on a suitcase for the rhythm? A forgettable thing and we got the point about the new relationship.

That Would Be SomethingNot much of a song as well. In fact it’s just two parts (1: That would be something. That really would be something. That would be something. 2: Meet you in the falling rain). Still Paul manages to make the song 2.37 minutes. Bass is simple but effective. The Western-style guitar is nice in the beginning, but drags on and on. The sudden coming of the rhythm (a little cymbal and that suitcase thing again) on 0.48 is nice. I like it when it’s coming when you least expect it. After 1.15 the song is in fact over. Not much more than a demo of a song that would never be. Nevertheless, Paul dusted it off for his unplugged cd in 1991.

Valentine DayWhat’s this supposed to be? Rhythm guitar and the suitcasedrum again at the beginning, which is way too long anyway. It doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Leadguitar comes in at 0.22 seconds and sounds awful. Bass plods along. Paul is freaking out on the drums and that’s about it. Any amateur band has a recording jam like this on the shelf. Obviously played ad lib to test his recording machine.

Every NightFinally a song that does make any sense on the album. Why didn’t Paul pay attention to all of his songs on this album? Besides this song, there’s just a handful of songs that are recorded with some attention and love. Opening with promises of a good song. Paul starts singing at 0.10 and his rhythm guitar brings in the tension. Nice. Decent drumming and no overwhelming bass, but pleasant enough. Is that a double tracked voice on ‘Resting my mind’ at 1.29? Paul forgets to add another verse or bridge. Reason why the song is too short to come to full bloom. Also played at the unplugged session in 1991.

Hot As Sun/GlassesI didn’t think much of this instrumental at first, until I found myself whistling along with Hot As Sun. The organ part in the bridge sucks (from 0.41), the rhythm part gets too simplistic here. The transition to Glasses with the organ coming in at 1.21 is hopeless. This is two parts that doesn’t mix together at all. What’s it about? Just a chance for wordplay? Glasses sound like a rejected part of Blue Jay Way. In the end Glasses is segued into a snippet of an unreleased song called Suicide. Why? It doesn’t make sense to my ears. Suicide was also performed during the Let It Be sessions and seemed to have been offered to Frank Sinatra. He rejected it.Funny to know that Hot As Sun used to be a Quarrymen song and was also played during the Let It Be sessions. Tim Rice put words to the song, which was later recorded by Elaine Page amongst others. Page claimed that McCartney had written the song especially for her. Yeah, right, in 1958.

JunkThis song was already written while The Beatles were in India, in the early spring of 1968. It was even part of the Esher recordings in late May of that year and intended to be one of the songs of the White Album. This version was later put on Anthology 3. Paul gave it another try during the Let It Be sessions, but again rejected. I can see why. The song has a nice melody, but it almost puts me to sleep. Pauls acoustic guitar sounds great and so does his voice. He’s not laughing. The drums are not adding too much. The melody played on the xylophone from 1.03 onwards is a nice touch in the beginning, but adds nothing when Paul goes into the chorus. He realises that as well obviously, for he suddenly stops. Linda’s harmonies are quite vague here and she seems to go out of tune. It looks like this song, although almost two years old, was not finished. Paul seems to be improvising an ending. Not a song I would put on my ‘best of Paul McCartney’ collection.

Man We Was LonelyI have always enjoyed this song. A typical Paul McCartney singalong. Although written and recorded in a single day, it sounds like one of the songs that got more attention. The song is like a prediction of things to come in the near future. Linda’s harmonies are alright during the chorus. Her reflecting during the verse tho (at 0.55 ‘alone’) is awful. Is that an edit at 0.59, or is Paul just looking for the right chord? Bass is once again plain simple but effective as ever. The steelguitar sounding solo (1.37) is great. It goes on into the verse and chorus after that. Is that another bad edit at 2.27?

Oo YouGreat lick. His remark ‘More Guitar’ at 0.07 makes sense. Nice use of the cowbell and tambourine. The electric guitars doesn’t sound nice to my ears, like on almost the complete album. Typical solo’s like the one in Another Girl for example. Characteristically McCartney. Guitar mistake at 1.02. Wonderful cowbell at 1.04. ‘Sing like a blackbird’ at 1.18. A little Beatle in here. Paul sings his heart out in somewhat silly lyrics. Great song with a sudden end.

Momma Miss AmericaRock-n-roll springtime, take 1. There’s the original title of this song. Momma Miss America has always intrigued me, as I think it starts out as a really interesting and exciting piece of music. But as it goes on, there’s hardly any development. Maybe Paul should have put some lyrics in here. His drumming is not of a high standard here. The edit into more or less another song after almost two minutes is pretty obvious. Part two doesn’t make the song any better. Paul is just improvising here. Bass is not constructive at all. Some random rhythm and lead guitar. Drums still sound messy with breaks here and there. At 3.11 the song sounds more composed. Still happy it’s over after four minutes.

Teddy BoyA lot of Beatlesfans regard this song as one of Pauls that should’ve been on one of the Beatles albums, especially Let It Be. Most probably John’s dislike of the song killed it then, but Paul revived it for his debut album. A pity in my opinion, as I really hate this song. The guitar chords are nice enough tho and Pauls bass shows a nice line as well. Linda’s harmonies are dreadful. Nothing more to add really.

Singalong JunkOriginally take one of Junk, on which Paul added mellotron and percussion in an overdub. Somehow this version sounds more complete than Junk and it almost sounds as a soundtrack for a film. I prefer this version. The piano gives the song a nice touch here.

Maybe I’m AmazedA lot of people call this song overrated. It really isn’t, for it’s a great song. It’s pretty obvious that this song was not recorded in a simple way, for it features three guitars, piano, bass guitar, drums and several vocal overdubs by Paul and Linda. Paul’s piano and vocal are superb and got great dynamics. The double guitarsolo is absolutely brilliant tho simple. Well done. I believe Ringo would have made more of the drum part. The organ stabbing at the end is great.The song got a lot of airplay at the time it was released, but wasn’t released as a single. A live version was released as a single in 1976 with the release of Wings Over America. Paul must have felt the potential of the song tho, as a promotional film was made in 1970 with photos Linda had taken. It’s here: Wings/Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed (HQ)

Kreen-AkroreMade to get the feeling of the hunt of the Kreen-Akrore tribe from Brazil. Among the instruments used: guitar case and bow and arrow. If I ever gonna make a documentary on the Kreen-Akrore Indians, I will use this song. Until then, it’s a certain skip.

OverallNice enough to play every now and then, with a skip here and there. Still enjoyable songs like Every Night, Man We Was Lonely, Oo You and Maybe I’m Amazed. The album shows Paul’s open for experiment and he will get my credits for that.

Post by mrmustard on Jan 14, 2015 19:20:14 GMT

Totally agree with your assessment here Bobber.

I have always pondered how McCartney recorded this album in terms of tracking. For Maybe I'm amazed for instance, did he record piano and vocal then add the drums later? It's fairly tight all the way through. He must have recorded the piano and vocal to a metronome possibly, then added bass, guitars, organ and backing vocals in roughly that order. Ain't no click track in them days!

Post by Amadeus on Jan 14, 2015 23:09:45 GMT

Sounds about right that he recorded the song on piano and vocals first and added everything on after. Exactly what he did on 'Come and Get It'.

The album itself? Maybe I'm Amazed! That's all there is on it. The rest of it is Paul trying to be: human, charming, cute. The top of the heap rock visionary who just came off of Abbey Road attempts to prove he is a regular bloke at home like you and me by producing an album that you or me could've done.

Friend: My favorite Beatles song is Band On The Run.
Me: It's not a Beatles song.
Friend: Wot! That guy, that guy, Paul McCartney sings it right?
Me: Yes.
Friend: Alright! That one is my favorite Beatle song.

Post by mrmustard on Jan 15, 2015 0:20:51 GMT

Come and Get It was merely a demo and never intended for professional release so changes in tempo or a slightly dodgy drum pick up weren't an issue. You just wouldn't dream of recording this way if you where tracking a song. You would always start with a basic rhythm track to establish a tempo to play to when overdubbing. Somehow he pulls it off though and given all the stops in the song this is some achievement.

Post by Bongo on Jan 15, 2015 0:33:08 GMT

The album itself? Maybe I'm Amazed! That's all there is on it. The rest of it is Paul trying to be: human, charming, cute. The top of the heap rock visionary who just came off of Abbey Road attempts to prove he is a regular bloke at home like you and me by producing an album that you or me could've done.

Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately I also feel the same way about Wings Wild Life LP. Like the song itself and maybe 1 or 2 more, but find McCartney didn't find his feet until the RAM LP. That one was awesome.

Post by Mr Kite on Jan 15, 2015 20:09:42 GMT

I bloody love it .

I got it in the mid 70`s when I was hooked on McCartney . This album Ram and Red Rose were my first few albums after Band On the Run and I loved it .

It was like you were going through the diary of Macca as he was setting off on a new dawn without the Fab 4 .This is the album that got him back to recording and yes it is easy peasy songs and bloody hell Maybe I`m Amazed One of Macca`s finest . Every night is`nt bad either . It was a highlight for me when I got to see Wings in 79 .

Oo You and Momma Miss America are great foot tappers and the only one that did grate on me a little was Teddy Boy (should have give it Ringo )

I alway`s wished Macca would have gone back to the basics when I had to put up with those mediocre albums in the 80`s Yeh it`s homemade and yeh it`s basic song writing but it`s Paul McCartney when he was finding his feet and on the next album he carried on the basic rock tunes and he did that and some !

Post by Amadeus on Jan 16, 2015 2:38:31 GMT

He tried the same thing with McCartney II. Except it was even more 'not that good'. I understand that it's a part of his history, finding his feet and all that. It's not a waste of time but mainly because it is McCartney.

Friend: My favorite Beatles song is Band On The Run.
Me: It's not a Beatles song.
Friend: Wot! That guy, that guy, Paul McCartney sings it right?
Me: Yes.
Friend: Alright! That one is my favorite Beatle song.